Letter: A round of compassion at Dunkin'

There was a horse trailer parked at Dunkin' Donuts a few days ago. The owner was rubbing the horse's face while one of our young homeless folks approached and asked to pet the horse. The young homeless man then took some change out of his pockets and told the owner to help feed the horse with the change. The owner refused to ...

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The Herald News, Fall River, MA

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Posted Jun. 30, 2014 at 6:07 PM

Posted Jun. 30, 2014 at 6:07 PM

» Social News

There was a horse trailer parked at Dunkin’ Donuts a few days ago. The owner was rubbing the horse’s face while one of our young homeless folks approached and asked to pet the horse. The young homeless man then took some change out of his pockets and told the owner to help feed the horse with the change. The owner refused to take his change. So I whispered to the owner that the man was offering all that he has and it would make him feel real good to help an animal. So the owner gratefully accepted the change.

The homeless man was happy to pet the horse. This is probably a huge reward for him just being near a horse after living in the city and never having a chance to be with something so majestic. I then went into the store and bought my iced coffee. The homeless man came in and sat down.

He’d probably been on his feet walking around all night. I could tell he was tired. I bought a $10 gift card for him and asked the woman behind the counter to go hand it to him. He just stared at the card for a few minutes before getting in line. I’ll never forget the look on his face when he was staring at that card. I hope someone leads him to our mission. I just couldn’t approach him with teary eyes.

I hope what he experienced this morning will give him hope in his heart. It gave me hope in my heart that someday all people will look at homeless folks, not as bums or addicts, but as the kind and loving folks they are.

When you see a homeless person, smile at them. Don’t turn your head the other way. A smile or a small gesture of kindness can brighten their day. I know that today my day was brightened and blessed by just witnessing this man’s generosity, despite him not having a penny left to his name.